DAILY COVID-19 UPDATE May 5, 2020

WHAT HAPPENED TODAY

Today, in opening floor remarks, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stated lawmakers should focus their efforts on policy solutions that "will help pivot towards a phased re-opening and recovery." He also reiterated Republicans will insist on the inclusion of liability protections for employers in any future coronavirus relief bill.

Additionally, Senate Minority Leader as well as Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and (D-NH) plan to ask for unanimous consent on their billthat would require the Small Business Administration to publicly report on the small business lending programs, broken down by geography, demographics, and types of industry.

Yesterday, on a Democratic caucus call, Speaker asked members to submit their suggestions for CARES 2 legislation to House leaders and committee chairmen by close of business Friday. At the same time, House Majority Leader told members there is no timetable for them to return to the District for votes on the next coronavirus relief package or any other bill.

Notably, Vice President Pence told reporters the White House is "having conversations about" disbanding the Coronavirus Task Force and shifting the work that the group is doing to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Since our last update, the Federal Reserve, Treasury, and Small Business Administration published additional guidance. Please see below for more details.

We have updated our Drug Shortage and Medical Supply Tracker and it is linked below under Latest PMJ Resources.

LATEST PMJ RESOURCES

• COVID Legislative Update • 2020 Political Outlook • COVID Legislative Tracker • COVID State Reopening Tracker • Drug Shortage and Medical Supply Chain Tracker • COVID-19 Travel Restrictions • Global COVID-19 Export Controls • Memo - Federal Reserve COVID-19 Announcements • Federal Reserve Lending Facilities Deck

ECONOMIC UPDATE

Congressional • House • House Financial Services Committee released its priorities for CARES 2. • In a Dear Colleague letter, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced the formula for providing assistance to county and municipal governments. • Rep. (D-VA), along with Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and (D-CO), released a draft framework for the Worker Relief and Security Act, legislation that would tie ongoing expanded unemployment benefits to the public health emergency and economic conditions. • In a letter to the nation’s largest mortgage servicers, Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), along with other Democratic members of the committee, outlined the various borrower protections Congress included in the CARES Act and the role mortgage servicers play in implementing these protections. • Senate • In opening floor comments, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R- KY) reiterated his priority of including liability protections in coronavirus legislation and focusing on reopening the economy. • In a letter to Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russell Vought, Senators (R-FL) and Ben Cardin (D- MD), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, wrote about the need for effective implementation of Section 889(a)(1)(B) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019.

Administration • Federal Reserve • The federal bank regulatory agencies announced an interim final rule that modifies the agencies’ Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) rule. • Treasury • Treasury issued additional FAQs related to guidance issued on April 22 on the use of monies from the Coronavirus Relief Fund. • Treasury Secretary and Secretary of Interior David Bernhardt issued a statement after agreeing on a path forward to provide Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars to Native American Tribes. • Treasury Department Assistant Secretary Michael Faulkender released the statement from the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. • The Treasury Department announced its current estimates of privately- held net marketable borrowing for the April-June 2020 and July- September 2020 quarters. • Small Business Administrator (SBA) • Small Business Administrator Jovita Carranza announced that agricultural businesses are now eligible for SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance programs. • Internal Revenue Service (IRS) • The IRS released questions and answers that address guidelines in retirement tax breaks included in the CARES Act.

Articles of Interest • 5/5 published an article titled, “’Risk Based’ Social Distancing Is Key to Reopening.” • 5/5 The Wall Street Journal published an article titled, “U.S. Services Businesses See Biggest Drop in Activity Since Last Recession.” • 5/5 Reuters published an article titled, “White House adviser expects U.S. unemployment rate for April to be ‘north of 16%.’” • 5/5 published an article titled, “Vague rules for Paycheck Protection Program complicate Treasury effort to claw back money.” • 5/5 Bloomberg published an article titled, “Fed’s Evans Says Lifting Stay-at- Home Orders Bold But Risky.” • 5/4 Politico published an article titled, “Mnuchin resists changes to small business loans as restaurants protest.” • 5/4 Politico published an article titled, “Treasury to borrow record-breaking $3T as pandemic costs skyrocket.”

PUBLIC HEALTH UPDATE

Congressional • House • Rep. Schakowsky led 87 of her colleagues in sending a letter to HHS Secretary and CMS Administrator Seema Verma, asking them to allocate a portion of the $25 billion in funding for COVID-19 testing provided by Congress as part of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act to enhance diagnostic testing at long-term care facilities. • Reps. Eshoo and Shalala sent a letter to CMS Administrator Verma expressing concerning about the rising death toll among the residents and staff in our nation’s long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. • Reps. Higgins, Guthrie, Matsui, and Bilirakis sent a letter to House leadership urging the inclusion of oral chemotherapy parity in the next coronavirus relief bill. • The Task Force on Aging & Families outlinedprotections for seniors, loved ones, and caregivers amid the coronavirus outbreak. • Senate • 35 senators sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Schumer urging protections for the U.S. scientific research community during the coronavirus crisis. • Sens. Rosen and Rubio introduced their bipartisan, bicameral Ensuring Understanding of COVID-19 to Protect Public Health Act, legislation that would direct NIH to conduct a longitudinal study on mild, moderate, and severe cases of COVID-19 to ensure we gain a full understanding of both the short and long- term health impacts of the novel coronavirus. Identical companion legislation will be introduced in the House by Reps. DeGette, Burgess, Eshoo, and Guthrie. • Sen. Sanders and Rep. Khanna introduced the Emergency Medical Supplies Procurement Act to require the Trump administration to respond to state requests for health care supplies using special authorities such as the Defense Production Act. • Sen. Cruz penned an op-ed in outlining critical priorities for Congress to focus on in response to the pandemic and economic crisis. • Sens. Rosen, Blumenthal, and Kaine sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Schumer calling for increased funding for a CDC data modernization initiative. The Senators stressed the need for this additional funding to ensure public health departments have the necessary technology and skilled workforce in place to prepare for and respond to public health crises. • Sens. Coons, Roberts, Reps. DelBene, and Walorski introduced a bipartisan, bicameral bill to boost federal investment in American research and development, including vaccine research. • Sen. King introduced legislation that outlines a specific, responsive framework for a coronavirus response by federalizing the supply chain for critical medical supplies and equipment, that includes oversight procedures to maintain integrity. The Medical Supply Transparency and Delivery Act requires the president to utilize all available authorities under the Defense Production Act to mobilize a federal response to the pandemic through an equitable and transparent process. • 14 Senators wrote a letter to Senate leadership calling for $8 billion in funding to strengthen the contact tracing workforce in the U.S.

Administration • Department of Health and Human Services • HHS' Office of Inspector General (OIG) published a report titled, "Selected Health Care Coalitions Increased Involvement in Whole Community Preparedness But Face Developmental Challenges Following New Requirements in 2017." • Centers for & Medicaid Services • CMS issued additional Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to aid state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) agencies in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. • Chief Medical Officers at CMS published a blog post in Health Affairs titled, "What CMS’s Response To COVID-19 Means For Front Line Clinicians." • CMS has approved over 145 requests for state relief in response to the COVID- 19 pandemic, including recent approvals for Kansas, , Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and Wyoming. These approvals help to ensure that states have the tools they need to combat COVID-19 through a wide variety of waivers, amendments, and Medicaid state plan flexibilities, including for programs that care for the elderly and people with disabilities. • Food and Drug Administration • FDA authorized the first serology, or antibody, test where the results of a new independent validation effort by the U.S. Government provided the scientific evidence used to support the authorization. The testing was performed at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR), a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) sponsored by NIH's National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Articles of Interest • 5/4 CNN published an article titled, “What happens if a coronavirus vaccine is never developed? It has happened before.” • 5/4 Politico published an article titled, “Models shift to predict dramatically more U.S. deaths as states relax social distancing.” • 5/4 The Hill published an article titled, “White House prohibits coronavirus task force members from testifying before Congress in May.” • 5/4 Politico published an article titled, “Trump pushes to reopen country, but his own workforce isn’t rushing back.” • 5/5 The Hill published an article titled, “Pfizer begins human trials of potential coronavirus vaccine.” • 5/5 The Hill published an article titled, “Coronavirus protests take aim at scientists, elites.”

LABOR UPDATE

Congressional • House • Rep. Beyer and Senators Reed and Bennet released a draft framework for the Worker Relief and Security Act, legislation that would tie ongoing expanded unemployment benefits to the public health emergency and economic conditions. The bill would use automatic triggers to ensure that assistance continues to flow to workers for the duration of the pandemic and the resulting economic crisis even in the absence of action by Congress. Administration • Department of Labor • DOL announced that Dislocated Worker Grant (DWG) funding made available to states and territories to employ workers temporarily to respond to the coronavirus public health emergency can be used for contact tracing. • DOL responded to specific state requests seeking assistance to administer changes to unemployment insurance (UI) programs made by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Emergency Unemployment Insurance Stabilization and Access Act in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). • DOL's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has translated and published its “Ten Steps All Workplaces Can Take to Reduce Risk of Exposure to Coronavirus” poster in 11 additional languages. Currently available in English and Spanish, the poster highlights 10 infection prevention measures every employer should implement to protect workers’ safety and health during the coronavirus pandemic.

SUPPLY CHAIN/CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATE

• The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) updated its information and communications technology (ICT) Supply Chain Risk Management fact sheet. • Please click here to view a readout of today's CISA-led COVID-19 call.

Please note this daily update may not encompass all public guidance documents on implementation; as such, we encourage you to review public agency websites. Please let us know of any questions.